


Stormy Seas

by CaptainoftheRirenShip, Sorkari



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Pirate, BAMF levi, Collaboration, Dead Carla, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eventual Romance, Good Parent Grisha, Hate to Love, Levi Wants That Yeager Booty, Multi, Sorkari helped, Switching, Topping from the Bottom, a really bad joke, and vice versa, based on a bad joke, basically the pirate AU you didn't know you wanted, lots of bamfs, mostly Levi bc he's a bamf, past eruri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:13:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6078921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainoftheRirenShip/pseuds/CaptainoftheRirenShip, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorkari/pseuds/Sorkari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the son of a legendary captain, Eren is well-known and well-liked among the pirate community - with the exception of an extremely dangerous captain that he holds a shaky truce with. When things go wrong at a meeting, their peaceful lives go to hell, and Eren eventually realizes he has been judging this stoic man much too harshly. Pirate!AU. Riren. Collab w/Sorkari.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: We do not own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan. All rights reserved.  
> Pairings: Riren/Ereri and Winmin  
> Warnings: Eventual M/M smut, amputation, gore, violence, angry midgets, explicit language, tragic backstories, cliffhangers  
> Captain: Hah what are we doing. I don't know but apparently Sorkari actually puts warnings in his A/Ns so I don't have to. I guess just -- beware? This is gonna be one helluva ride... do you wanna add any notes?  
> Sorkari: what would i even say  
> Captain: words probably  
> Sorkari: well yeah but what do i SAY  
> Captain: WORDS. ENGLISH  
> Sorkari: You guys should be thankful that this is a collab. She won't let me kill everyone off.  
> Captain: Damn fuxkin strait m8 this is not predicting murder you homicidal fuck. So done with your shit smh stop killing them *hypocritical af*  
> So without further ado, hold onto your butts and start reading :D

Armin woke with a start, rubbing sleep from his eyes and listening to  the cacophony of crewmates cheering on what sounded like a shouting  match. One of the voices Armin knew like the back of his hand, and he struggled to sit upright ;  who  the hell  would Eren be fighting with so  early and out of his own crew?

Shit, the crowd was getting louder.  _That can't be good._   Struggling to regain use of his limbs while they still weren't awake,  Armin stumbled out of bed and out onto the deck, desperately pulling  himself together. He easily pushed his way through the crowd parting  before him to the heart of the conflict, where he immediately spotted  his captain.  He fought the need to pinch the bridge of his nose; Eren hadn't even gotten fully dressed yet, with only a white silk shirt still wrinkled from being on the ground and his boots on the wrong damned feet.

His lips were curled into a snarl at the taller man on the ship. Suddenly, it all made sense. Armin almost turned right back around to go to sleep, but he fought against it. The last time he did that, someone ended up with a broken nose, and he had to deal with the whining later. Tall with amber eyes and two-toned hair, Captain Jean Kirstein was an imposing figure, one that no one dared to defy. No one but the slightly shorter brunet, who was returning his glare evenly with eyes matching the very sea they sailed on.

Upon seeing Armin, he pursed his lips into a tight, thin line. He was still breathing deeply, with his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, though he wouldn't dare continue. Not when his childhood friend had given him such an enervated look.

"I'm not going to tell you again . " His words still dripped with hostility. "Get. Off. My.  Ship ."

Captain Kirstein defiantly folded his arms over his chest with a mocking look in his eye. "And I'm not going to repeat myself: I want to see what Armin thinks about it."

Armin  rubbed his eyes with a tired sigh. "Why did no one come get me? And Jean, what made you think it was a good idea to come early and provoke Eren?"

"Who said I came to provoke him?"

"When have you ever came to do anything else?"

Jean shrugged, a grin breaking his hard demeanor. "Point taken. I was bored and we spotted your ship, so we decided 'why not?' Thus, here we are. Marco's aboard -" he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb at another ship, connected to Eren's by a few wooden planks. "- so you can go chat with him if you want."

Sighing again but in irritation this time, Armin approached the tall man and spun him around by the shoulders, earning a startled noise in response. "Go away, Jean. Back to Marco you go."

"What -?" Jean looked startled, then incredulous, as though he had expected Armin to take his side. "Why?!"

 

"You rudely woke me up and interrupted Eren's morning ritual."

"Eren was responsible for waking you, too!"

"I  can't kick Eren off his own ship," Armin stated simply with a none-too-gentle push towards one of the wooden planks. "Maybe in another two hours I'll feel more hospitable."

Jean immediately called him out on his cover, "The meeting starts in one!"

Armin shrugged. "What can we do? I have no control over it." Not listening to Jean's protests, Armin ungracefully shoved him onto a plank and poked him until he started moving forward. "Tell Marco I said hello, and that I can't wait to talk to him."

Surprisingly, Jean merely grumbled in irritation and did as he was told. Eren gave a stressed  sigh, turning to his best friend and second-in-command. "Thanks, Armin, Horseface just wouldn't-"

"Eren,  shut up before I throw you off the ship."

Eren's mouth immediately snapped shut and he turned around, giving orders to his crew to prepare to set sail. Most of the crew members were trying their hardest not to laugh. Eren may have been the ship's captain, but if anything, Armin was in charge. He may not have looked dangerous -  short, blond, blue eyes, sweetest face, basically a pure representation of innocence - but he could fuck anyone over with his deadly mind . Armin knew how to intimidate and manipulate Eren  to  get his way, and everyone knew it.

Well, so maybe it only really worked on Eren, and sometimes Jean, but that was all he usually needed.

As  the small pirate dragged himself back to his cabin, Eren left the deck to finish dressing in his velvet waistcoat and worn, tough leather boots. The look was finished off with a trihat, and he smiled fondly at the familiar weight on his head that symbolized his leadership. He returned to his crew, snapping out orders.

"Pull off the boards, turn her around! We set sail for Rose, the town of Trost! Hop to it, mates, are you all still asleep?!"

His crew's voices rose in some song, and he couldn't help but join in jovially, belting out the lyrics as he took the steps to the wheel by two. He spun the wood around until the ship had done a full one-eighty.

"Throw down the sails!"

Of  course, he was the first one to climb the main mast, pulling himself up with ease and cutting the ropes that bunched up the sails. He let them fall, and immediately a few others started to tie them to the yards. Rather than climb back down, he grabbed hold of a rope and let himself  dangle, enjoying the breeze on his face and the smell of the sea. Eren had always thought he belonged at sea, and now, with as long as he'd sailed the waters, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Suddenly he snapped out of his reverie and glanced at his lookout, who was observing the seemingly endless sea around them. "How long until we reach land?" he called across the ship. He had a fairly good idea already, but liked to hear confirmation

"Roughly half an hour, if the wind is in our favor," Eren's crew mate responded after a moment, sliding his telescope closed.

"And it will be, because the winds always reach our sails, don't they, mates?" he bellowed jovially. Eren would never be able to explain why he got so excitable on these meeting days. "Keep me updated, Thomas! I'm off to wake the beast."

Most of his crew had been listening in, and quite a few groaned or whistled. It was more mocking than anything. While, yes, Armin was a definite cruel monster in the morning, they mostly found it hilarious that their strong, brave captain was scared of waking him. In reality, Eren knew he could get Armin up without a problem if the situation called for it, but otherwise his second-in-command and best friend was unwilling to comply with his requests. As Eren climbed down the pole, he shot glares at every sailor he locked eyes with.

"Good luck, cap'n!"

"We'll pray for ya."

"Don't let the beast eat you!"

"To your duties, all of you!" Eren snapped .

They chortled at the command, but they complied regardless. He rolled his eyes, scowl slipping off his features in place of a smile when nobody could see. He loved his crew mates, he really did. They were like a family, even if they were irritating and unruly at times.

Eren composed himself, opening the door under the deck and slipping inside. Armin's room was just to his left, and he knocked on the door firmly, knowing better than to dwell on what he was about to face. He couldn't fathom how his friend wasn't a morning person when most pirates got up at the buttcrack of dawn, but then again, Armin hadn't joined his crew until his second year as captain, despite them being friends long before that.

"Armin?"

A sleepy grumble reached him, and Eren deemed it safe enough to enter. Thankfully, the blond was perched on the edge of his bed, buttoning up his shirt. Good. Eren didn't have to experience  the adventure that was waking his second-in-command. However, Armin still seemed half-asleep, so they weren't out of danger yet. But, even knowing this, Eren decided that morning he was going to be bold.

"Rise and shine, my princess!" he sang, plopping down heavily on the mattress and slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders. "We reach Trost in twenty minutes!" All Armin had to do was look at Eren for him to falter. He calmed himself down. "It's smooth sailing from here on out, so we can sit back and relax until we get there. Have some breakfast , I brewed coffee. Which reminds me ; we need to get more while we're there. And we should go on a raid soon. Our treasures are dwindling and -"

"Eren?" His best friend interrupted him , voice still laced with sleep, and the brunet realized he was rambling \-  the last thing someone should do around a freshly awoken Armin.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Just like that, the captain practically deflated. "But I can't rant to anyone else," he grumbled. He stood up quickly and spun around, nearly giving his tired friend whiplash.  Just as suddenly as he had lost h is spirit, he was up and about again, just as hyper as he was just a few seconds prior. As he paced around the small cabin, he continued,  "You're the only one I can talk to, Armin! I'm the  _captain!_ It would practically be blasphemy to tell the crew what's on my mind, friends or not!"

"So you're rambling to me?" Armin asked dully, a question he knew the answer to already, as well as the words that would follow.

"Of course! You're my second-in-command, and my best friend! That means the importance of listening to me rant is  _doubled!"_  

"Yeah, whatever." A yawn escaped the shorter male as he reached for his boots. He grumbled under his breath, "Eren, you're twenty-three. Stop acting like such a little kid."

"Oh, shut up," Eren snapped at him, rolling his eyes. "I'm excited, okay? It's been so long since we last met up with everyone. We'll get to see Mikasa again."

Armin seemed  be waking up by now, for his words weren't as slurred as they had been when Eren first got there. He pointed out,  "But you're just going to bicker about her hounding over you."

"It's how I tell her I'm okay," Eren insisted. "She knows I love her. At least, I think she does."

Armin only rolled his eyes. He stood and stretched with a yawn, then headed out of his room without another word. Eren trailed after him like a puppy \-  ironic considering who was in charge.

Eren ate breakfast with the rest of his crew while Armin, being the one who steered the ship, nearly fell asleep on the wheel with a loaf of bread still clutched in his hand.  Still, by the time they were leaned up against the railing and watching their destination loom closer, he was awake enough to converse with the crew (though he refused to talk to Eren, which was the norm when the brunet woke him early for stupid shit, and would wear off in an hour or so).

They arrived  at the small port town of Trost , with the old ship groaning to a sudden stop at the ports that shook every crew mate on deck. They were used to it at this point, though, and readied to anchor the ship. Jean's ship docked next to them just a few s econds later, and while Eren glared daggers at the opposing ship, his crew exchanged brief greetings from across the ships.

The crew was free to do as they wi shed ; Eren trusted them enough not to do anything too rash while they were there (not that they ever ha d , of course). The decrepit floorboards creaked from beneath him as he jumped onto the dock, but Armin settled with taking the safer way down by the la dd er, grumbling something about "being reckless" and "r i diculous" under his breath.

He didn't care, though. All he could care about, at a time like this, was the ocean and the city.

He had many memories concerning the city, both good and bad alike, all of which brought the sweetness of nostalgia. The ocean was bright and alive around them, almost as bright as his eyes had been the first day he left the docks with his first ship. That ship was the same one they used today; she was old, there was no doubt about that, but she still held as strong as the day he first laid eyes on her.

Which was exactly what his mother had been. She had been strong the first day he laid eyes on her , from the day he was born to the very day she died. Not once had she shown weakness. Not once had she let him down. Just like the ship he owned. It was old and worn, yes, but it was trustworthy.

That was why he named the ship Carla, in the bittersweet memory of his mother.

The waves came in long, gentle sighs, occasionally spraying them with a light sprinkle of water. By the time Armin managed to drag Eren away from the docks, they smelled of the sea and still had small droplets of water on their cheeks.

Their meetings were always held at an old tavern located near the docks. The crews would usually mingle there - if they weren't doing their own thing around the city - while their captains went about their business. There were two stories to the building; the first floor being the area where said crews would converse and get a drink or two; and the second floor, where the captains of various crews met up and argued, plotted, or partied.

The sound of conversation and the roaring of laughter dimmed a bit as Eren and Armin reached the meeting room. They weren't the last captains to arrive this time, but they were close to it - other than Jean and Marco's absence, everyone else was there, just as planned.

Almost as soon as Eren took a seat, a mug was placed in front of him, filled to the very brim with ale. At the same time, Captain Braun called over his shoulder, "Anything significant anyone wants to say before we all get drunk off our asses for the night?"

The proposition may have sounded ludicrous to an outsider, especially with such a burly captain with a stern look in his broad features, but the others knew better. Reiner Braun was fearsome in battle and loyal until the very end, with his brute strength and relentless stamina. He was one of the mighties foes one could have and an undeniably strong ally to be graced with. Outside the atmosphere of war and bloodshed, however, he was nothing more than a gentle giant, especially towards his second command, Bertholdt.

Despite being constantly nervous and skittish, Bertholdt was a great strategist to have around, and was also the best friend you could ask for. Eren also noted that he was especially amiable to his captain. As far as the brunet knew, the two towering captains went back further than anyone could pry without getting an earful from one or the other.

"Nothing important on my end," a brunette woman replied. A bored yawn escaped her lips as she wrapped her arm around the small girl next to her. She nuzzled into her blonde hair with an affectionate hum, "Then again, I'm probably paying more attention to my Krista than the sea."

The small blonde - Krista - flushed with a small squeak, "Ymir -!"

"What?" At Krista's stern look, she rolled her eyes and admitted, "I've heard gossip about a ship that was sunk by one of their allies. Other than that, though, I've got nothing. Just a bunch of water on all sides. Life's so boring."

Captain Ymir was a strange case; she was part of many alliances, yet only for the spoils, and notorious for being a troublemaker. Each and every person in her crew was just as cunning and conniving as her. The only person she was known to be completely loyal to was Krista. She threatened anything and anyone that got too close to Krista and kept the small girl stuck to her side like glue. No one knew who Krista was, what use she was, or where she came from, only that any soul unfortunate or stupid enough to come near her would suffer Ymir's wrath.

"The seas have been quiet," another small blonde agreed just over the rim of her mug.

This was Captain Annie Leonhardt. Nobody knew about Annie personally, but they all respected her. She was strong, quiet, and fearless, and above all, neutral - one of the very few captains known to never get involved. She was also incredibly difficult to talk to, Eren knew from experience, and one of two captains that ruled alone. The other spoke directly after her.

"Even the weather has been calm," Mikasa said. "It's been extremely peaceful." She furrowed her brows. "I can't help but feel like it's the calm before the storm."

"You worry too much!" Eren exclaimed. "If anything, we should enjoy how peaceful it is now. It's not every day that we get a break from our responsibilities, y'know?"

"You're a fucking  idiot if you really think this is the time to let our guards down," a deep voice sneered. 

The man who regarded Eren sat just a few seats away from him rest his head on one folded hand, seemingly disinterested in the ale presented to him. This was Captain Levi, who - like Annie - was well-respected amongst the captains and crewmates despite refusing to share any detail of his personal life. He was regarded as the strongest captain there is, considering the amount of raids he successfully managed to lead and complete and the amount of battles he survived.

Strongest captain or not, Eren wasn't going to let some stubby bastard with a stick up his ass offend him. Not this meeting. He snapped, "I'm not saying we should let out guards down. I'm saying we should enjoy the fact that we're not worrying about whether we'll wake up the next day or not every time we fall asleep."

"You obviously don't know how to protect yourself or your crew if you worry about dying in your sleep," Levi drawled. 

The corner of Eren's brow twitched. "You'll never know when someone will raid your ship."

"The fuck you think is gonna happen over night?" Silver-blue eyes glared at him with a degrading look. "Think, you moron; can someone really raid your ship in the middle of the night when it's too dark to see, even if the moon is out?"

Eren bristled, mouth opening to retort with any and every insult that came to mind, but he abruptly locked his jaw shut at the sight of the tall blond that just took a seat next to Levi. He said with that deep, soothing voice, "I hope you're not arguing with anyone, Levi."

Levi folded his arms over his chest with a displeased grumble, "Stupid fucking giant. . . ."

The blond's lips slightly curled upward into a knowing smile. Erwin Smith was one of the three captains who knew Levi on a personal level. He was one of the tallest captains there, with a charming, yet overall serious demeanor, stunningly blue eyes, and the perspicacity that only Armin could rival. He was always the one to lead the discussions, make formation plans, and resolve any conflict that brewed during the meetings. That included averting Levi and Eren's frequent contretemps, but it didn't always work.

"Now that everyone's here," Erwin started, and naturally, the table quieted down. Except for Reiner, who was already starting to hear colors from the amount of ale he'd consumed. Blocking out whatever conversation he was having with Bertolt at the very end of the table, Erwin continued, "I'd like to discuss the formation plan we made during the last meeting."

A much older captain off to Erwin's right - Dott Pixis - yawned, "Is that really necessary?" He took a long drink from his mug, then set it back down on the table with a blissful sigh. Unlike Reiner, he was capable of keeping a relatively clear mindset even after a few mugs of ale. "Honestly, there's no immediate danger out there. What we have already is good enough as it is for the waters at the moment."

"It's better if we have a plan B in case that doesn't work," Levi deadpanned, "I've seen too many crews go down because they think they can fuck around when nothing interesting is happening." The ravenet gaze briefly switched over to Eren, then back to Pixis. "If we can get this plan down and passed around to the rest of the captains to learn, we'll be prepared for whatever comes at us."

Annie quietly stated, "Then let's make those adjustments now and get it done and over with. Better safe than sorry. And besides, I want to leave before I end up having to haul Reiner's ass out of here."

"I agree with Captain Pixis, actually," Eren spoke up, and the other captains turned their attention to him. "It's not like anyone's going to sail past our boundaries without us knowing. There's no reason to be paranoid."

Erwin took this into consideration. With a small nod, he said, "I see where you're coming from. But as Captain Leonhardt said, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Our waters aren't going to get pillaged anytime soon. No one's seen a ship that didn't belong to this part of the ocean in years," Eren explained. If he had to be completely honest, it was scary to think that war with ships beyond familiar waters was upon them. Didn't they see that there was no immediate danger?

"Don't be fucking stupid," Levi sighed. He pointed out with an impatient growl, "It's common sense to attack when the enemy least expects it, and once those ships come sailing down Shiganshina and burning ships and towns to a pile of ashes, you'll be wishing we got this plan done. We've put this off for _weeks_ . We need to finish it now."

Eren clenched his fists at his sides, his nails digging deep enough into his palms to create small, crescent moon indents. "I'm not being stupid. You're the one that's being too paranoid!"

"I'm not paranoid, you blasphemous little brat. I'm trying to prevent any of us from watching our crewmates, friends, and family get slaughtered by those savages."

"The only reason why you're saying that is because you're always leading your crews to their deaths!" Eren knew that was a blow below the belt, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. "You're saying you want to save people from the savages, but all you ever do is throw our friends and family out in unknown waters without a damn in the world!"

The room went eerily quiet. Levi's brow furrowed significantly. Crossing one leg over the other, he leaned back against his seat, and replied with a low, dangerous deadpan, "Okay. Fine. Let's not finish our formation plan. Then you can watch Carla crash and burn, along with the rest of the people that you're too weak to save."

Before anyone could stop him, Eren unsheathed his sword and lunged at his prey. He didn't care about the outcries of his fellow captains, nor the mugs he knocked over from the sheer force of the action. All that mattered was giving Levi the hell he deserves. His vehement anger was the only thing that kept him from thinking rationally, even when Levi's own sword lashed out to deal a lethal blow.

Their blades met in the middle, the kiss a high-pitched screech of steel against steel. Eren's arms quaked under the effort of keeping his defense up, while Levi stayed calm and inscrutable. The only thing to betray that perfect nonchalance was the fury in his eyes. Once their blades parted, Eren jabbed the tip of his blade at Levi's thigh, only to miss by an inch. In turn, Levi slammed the flat of his blade against Eren's fingers, eliciting a sharp cry of pain.

The sword dropped from Eren's hands, and within the next second, he was slammed up against the wall by the neck. He coughed and wheezed for air, but Levi only tightened his grip, digging his fingertips further into the hollows of his throat.

"Try killing me again, you useless son of a bitch." Levi venomously hissed, low enough that only Eren could hear him. "I'll rip your throat out right in front of your sister and force that stupid cunt to feed your body to the sharks."

"Eren!" Said sister was shouting for him in the background, but it was all so distant. His ears were ringing, filling with white noise as he gasped for air, and yet he managed a dark glare even as his vision was trying to go dark.

"She would kick your short ass," he growled back, voice hoarse, but the message got across nonetheless. For a second Eren was sure he was done for, was sure Levi's fingers were going to tighten even more and crush his windpipe, was satisfied that he'd gotten in the last low blow.

But then Levi was being dragged off of him and he was falling, his legs refusing to hold him up. Someone's arms wrapped around his waist and another pair slid under his arms to lift him to his feet. Mikasa and Armin kept a tight hold of him as he tried with everything he had not to pass out, the lightheadedness eventually fading as his circulation returned. 

Upon his vision clearing, he saw Levi a mere few feet away, not so much as a hair out of place or a wrinkle in his ever-pristine clothing. Erwin's arm was around his shoulders, and Eren presumed he had been the one to pull Levi away in the first place, considering nobody else would dare. Some captains were staring with wide eyes, others arguing and shouting. Eren fought to find his own balance, massaging his throat. It burned with every breath, and coughs constantly threatened to rise in his throat.

Before Eren's voice could join the cacophony, Pixis's voice was ringing out. 

"Enough!" 

The command of an old captain effectively silenced the room as if a blanket had fallen over them. Every head whipped around to stare at him, even Levi's, though the short man looked unimpressed. The blatant disrespect infuriated Eren, but he could do nothing about it unless he wanted to be at the receiving end of a pissed off veteran's rage. Instead, he determinedly ignored Levi, focusing solely on Pixis and his next words.

"One of you," the seasoned captain barked, "explain what the hell just happened! What started such hostility between crews with a truce?"

"Captain Jaeger -" Levi spat his name like it was poison. "- needs to learn to respect authority and stop fucking questioning those with more experience than him."

"And that midget needs to learn not to throw such low fucking blows just because he feels threatened by someone younger than him!" Eren snapped. "He's just butthurt because I'm a better captain that doesn't kill half my crew with every raid!"

"You're a fucking hypocrite!" 

Suddenly Levi was shouting, and even Erwin backed off a bit. Eren was startled by the outburst, his heart stuttering at the loud voice. He'd never heard the short captain yell before outside the heat of battle. No one had. Levi didn't get that angry. Levi had the sort of quiet anger that silenced a room and demanded control. Eren was so sure he'd figured that out, was so certain he knew the man well enough with all their arguing, but now... he hated to admit it, but he might have been the teeniest bit afraid at the way Levi seemed to snap.

Erwin mouthed a small something, probably a curse, maybe a prayer, and Eren instantly realized what was coming. He didn't even have time to mentally prep himself before the furious rant poured from Levi's lips.

"What the  _hell_ do you know? You're just some fucking brat with an oh so tragic backstory and anger problems that pushes all his rage onto other people! You don't know how to make decisions! You don't know what a true battle even is! You don't know what it's like to make those decisions, how hard it is to know the casualties before you make the decisions you have to make!"

Neither of them had realized that Levi was taking steps forward until they were nearly nose to nose, the short man's hot breath on his face. Oddly enough, unlike most of them, his breath was fresh and not smelly and -- why the fuck was Eren noticing all this? It had to be the lack of air -

"You don't understand the helplessness of watching your comrades dying and knowing it was all your fault! You've never had to make a decision that kills people, never had to contemplate how all of those people had lives, dreams, families and friends!" Eren couldn't begin to describe the expression on Levi's face, though if he had to attempt, it would be like an angry bear that just found out who set the bear trap. 

"So don't  _ever_ fucking talk shit on how I captain my ship! Don't ever again fucking question my decisions, you ignorant fucking  _idiot!_ Until you know what it is to send dozens of friends and family to certain doom, until you understand the crushing agony of losing so many close figures, don't fucking talk to me about my losses, are we  _fucking clear?!"_  

Silence. Nobody dared speak, nobody dared move, except the heavy rise and fall of Levi's chest. Finally - it could have been hours or seconds - Erwin took a step forward, resting his hand on Levi's shoulder. Eren expected the raven et to snap and yell at his co-captain,  but he merely tensed upon contact.

"I think," Erwin said carefully, "that we are all a bit stressed. Everyone just needs to calm down and take a deep breath or two. Some things have been said that shouldn't have been, and we should just sit down and talk about it, okay?"

"You fucking heard him, Erwin," Levi snapped, though thankfully he wasn't  yellin g anymore. "That ignorant shit doesn't get it. He never will. He's just a brat that will never understand what it's like to be a big boy and make those decisions. We can't get through to someone like that."

"Levi, just listen to me and calm down -"

Eren interrupted Erwin's soothing tone; "Well, maybe you shouldn't put yourself in that position in the first place." His suggestion was icy, his voice hoarse ye t undeniably mocking. Narrowing his eyes, he challengingly added, "Maybe if you weren't such a careless leader, you wouldn't have so many casualties."

At this, Levi whipped back around and lunged for the brunet with a feral snarl. This time, however, a few people were prepared, and Erwin and Pixis grabbed each of Levi's elbows. They struggled to contain the small captain.

"What did I fucking tell you?!" he ground out at Erwin. He turned back at Eren and snapped, "You're testing my patience, you little brat! Why don't you put on your big boy pants and stop disgracing your father's name with your pathetic lounging for once?! Grisha was a great leader! When are you going to stop kicking dirt on his legacy and using his ship for your ridiculous lazing around?!" 

All of Eren's smugness vanished at the mention of his father. "Don't fucking talk about my dad, you asshole! He was the best captain these seas ever saw!"

Levi's lips quirked up into something resembling a smirk, though it was nothing like the cold, calculating one he usually wore. "Yes, your father was magnificent. A fucking legend . However, your endeavors in his ship aren't doing much to improve his standing."

"What do you know?! You better shut your God damn mouth before I do it for you, shit-talking shrimp!"

Levi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why don't you come over here and fucking make me?" he taunted.

Eren tried to lunge this time, but he couldn't escape his friends' grasps. Still, it didn't matter if he reached Levi or not. His next words would shatter the peace nonetheless. 

"Fine, you asshole! You want a fight?! You'll get one!"

Armin spoke for the first time since this had started, voice high-pitched and terrified. "Eren, no!"

Eren ignored him. Taking a deep breath, he stared around at all the faces directed at him, some determinedly stoic like Erwin, some horrified like Connie and Sasha, and the oddball that was Ymir's gleeful expression. "Captain Levi, I refuse to keep peace with someone like you. If it's a war you want, it's a war you'll get."

Gasps rang about the room, despite the fact that everyone had been fairly certain those were the words that he'd been about to speak. Still, Levi glowered at him and squirmed out of Erwin's grasp, crossing his arms defiantly and squaring his shoulders.

It was startling how quickly his expression smoothed itself back out into the emotionless mask. "All right, brat, we'll play your game." he said smoothly. "What are  the spoils of war ?"

"Everything." Armin's breath hitched beside him and Mikasa's hand tightened on his bicep. "Take their crew if you want, as many as you please, even merge the armies completely. Take all their treasures. Burn the ship. Take captives. Take lives. A fight to the death."

Erwin looked ready to argue, but Levi's lips curled into a predatory sneer, and he replied, "Sounds like a fight I can get behind. Time and place? "

"Fifteen miles west of Trost, noon high. Your pride and standing rests on your appearance there."

Wordlessly, Levi turned and approached the exit to the stairs. Before starting the descent, he looked back over his shoulder. "I wouldn't dream of losing the opportunity to teach Grisha's fuck-up of a son a valuable lesson. Don't piss your pants when you start to lose."

And then both Erwin and Levi were gone. Mikasa and Armin turned slowly to Eren, one with a shocked glare, the other terrified and trembling. Everyone in the room was staring at  either  Eren or the doorway. Finally someone cleared their throat, breaking the silence, and Jean spoke in a shaky tone that was a mere ghost of his usual arrogance.

"You're in deep shit, Jaeger."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Captain: Sorry for a long wait, please don't kill us. That's... pretty much it.  
> Sorkari: I support cannibalism  
> Captain: I guess I do too, I let him do it. Uh... enjoy the chapter I suppose?

 

"Eren, please, don't do this! Call it off!"

"There is no way in hell I will and you know it!"

"God damn it, Eren, swallow your fucking pride before you kill us all!"

Eren rounded on his best friend after attaching his sword to his belt, eyes flashing dangerously. "This isn't some pissing contest, Armin! This is war! He insulted my crew, insulted my leadership, insulted my ship, and worst of all, insulted my parents!" The brunet pushed past his second-in-command. "You're either with us or against us. Who are you fighting for?"

"Carla, of course!" Armin responded immediately, trailing after him as he approached the mirror and tied his shaggy hair back, away from his face. "But there won't  _be_ a Carla to fight for if you go through with this!"

"Do you have that little faith in your crew?" Eren snapped, whirling back around. "Do you honestly doubt your captain that much? Do you really think I'd lose to that asshole?!"

"Of course I have faith in you!" Armin argued, grabbing Eren's scratchy sleeve before he could storm off. His entire outfit was rougher than usual, the man not wanting to wear any of his nice fabrics into battle. "You're one of the best captains to sail these seas! But we're going up against Levi and Erwin, you idiot! Nobody has  _ever_ won against them!"

"Well, looks like we're going to be the first," Eren growled.

"Eren-!"

But  his captain wasn't listening anymore ; the brunet's attention was fixed on his reflection, though he focused more on the rough clothing and the revolver that he had stuffed into his waistband sash. It was almost surreal, really - to think that they were going to war with an undefeated crew was something that would have never crossed his mind otherwise.

But he couldn't back out now. Not when they were this close to winning. Just a few more seconds passed before he stormed out of his quarters.

"Any sign of them?" he barked at Thomas, who was in his usual lookout spot, a telescope pressed to his eye. The blond nodded  vigorously , folding the device back into itself. 

"Just over the horizon, Captain! Magnolia is approaching!"

Eren 's shoulders squared at the news ; he rested his hand on his rapier's hilt as he watched the  huge, dark, polished ship approach them. He absentmindedly ran his fingers  over the polished metal of his weapon's hilt in slow, soothing circles.

"And  thus, the war begins," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Levi spun the cylinder of the revolver after loading it. The door opened and the ravenet whirled around instantly, raising the gun and pointing it between his visitor's eyes. Erwin raised his hands in a mocking surrender, and Levi lowered the gun, tucking it into his inside coat pocket.

"It's been a long time since you pointed a gun at me, Levi. Why so paranoid?"

"I'm not. I was testing my aim."

"Oh, whatever," Erwin scoffed with a knowing smile. "We all know you have eagle eyes, and that will never change."

"You can never be too sure," Levi responded darkly .

Nothing in his overall crisp and clean demeanor betrayed his inner turmoil. There was naught a wrinkle on his pristine clothing, naught a hair out of place, with only the smallest of furrows in his brow. Unlike Eren, he had faith that he would not ruin his nice clothing; he was too precise, too focused to make that kind of mistake.

Erwin approached him with slow, careful steps, reaching out to still his co-captain's hand as Levi reached for his blades. The shorter male glanced up at him questioningly, and at the blond's knowing gaze, he withdrew his hand.

"Something's wrong. What is it?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me, it is. Tell me. It will do no good to be worried in the midst of battle."

Levi sighed, a weary gust of air that betrayed the stress that weighed on his shoulders. He plopped down heavily on his bed, elbows on his knees with his fingers laced together. The furrow in his brow became more evident, the scowl that permanently marred his face deepening. Erwin waited patiently, watching his friend pick at his nails and worry at his bottom lip, knowing Levi would speak when he was ready.

"Carla. It's Carla."

_"Shiganshina has been attacked?"_

_L_ _e_ _vi_ _stiffened in his seat_ _as the baffled voices reached his ears_ _. He didn't move, didn't even incline his head to listen, only strained his ears and kept his elbows on the bar. His eyes fixed on the polished wood, not really seeing it._

_"Yeah. Apparently Captain Jaeger was followed from some unknown territory. There are foreign pirates burning and pillaging the place as we speak."_

_"Does the captain know?"_

_"I would guess he knows by now, but_ _. . ._ _well, there's no telling how long they've been there. Everyone could already be dead. The pirates from that Titan area are pretty heartless."_

Erwin gently sat on the bed next to the ravenet. His movements were slow, hesitant, as if he didn't want to somehow scare the younger captain away. It was too rough of  memory - too dreadful for anyone - even Levi - to handle so easily.

He spoke in a meticulously soft tone;  "I see. What about her?"

_I_ _t was an effort to keep calm in a situation like this; the short captain's jaw ached due to the harsh grinding of his teeth and his fists were clenched tight enough to make the knuckles shine white with pressure._ _His heart threatened to burst from his chest at the conversation he'd overheard, and he_ _hoped_ _desperately what he was hearing wasn't true._

_"Shit, and Jaeger's family is there, too. He's got a wife and kid_ _now_ _, don't he?"_

_"Yeah._ _Those Titans probably slaughtered the kid by now. Wouldn't be surprised if they were fucking the woman bloody already. They're monsters like that._ _"_

_"Grisha wouldn't just let them walk in and_ _do that."_

_"His corpse can't stop them. A few years off the sea really softens you up, y'know. I heard the Titans like playing with their food before they move on; last time they pillaged a city, a few of them raped and beat the women right in front of their children before slitting the brats' throats one by one -"_

_Levi_ _'s breath hitched in the back of his throat, his chest burning so painfully, but he managed to_ _casually slid_ _e_ _off his stool_ _with nothing more than a small sigh. He_ _slid_ _a few_ _gold coins over to the bartender and b_ _id_ _him a good night. It took everything in his power to remain relaxed and calm as he strode to the door of the tavern, but the moment the door slammed behind him, he was running like there were hounds from hell on his heels._

"You know very fucking well what I'm talking about," the shorter captain snapped.

_"Erwin!" Levi called for his fellow captain the moment he was on his ship_ _._ _He f_ _ound the tall blond at the prow,_ _sipping a mug of ale as he basked in the cool ocean breeze_ _. Erwin met eyes with his friend and his own widened, mirroring the ravenet's expression._

_"Levi?_ _" He couldn't hide the concern in his voice. "_ _What is it_ _? W_ _hat's wrong?"_

_"We have to get to Shiganshina_ _._ _"_

"I know what happened. What I don't know, however, is why you're mulling over the Jaeger family at a time like this."

_He could hear the high-pitched shrieks of the victims as they were slaughtered like livestock. Smoke, iron, and burnt flesh all muddled together as one thick, heavy cloud that choked every living thing in its wake. Numerous bodies lay scattered about the ground, beaten and forgotten. Some were the city folk, who were killed in the heat of it all, others were children who had been trampled to death, but most were pirates from both sides of the battle._

_It was a sight he never wished to see, never wished to even think about, yet the world still brought the inevitable upon him without warning. A pirate moaned in sheer agony as his bowels poured from the thick, wide laceration on his abdomen. Another was kept pinned to the ground by the sword that impaled his throat, digging right through his neck and burying into the river of blood below him. Another was still screaming, still hacking up a sick mixture of ashes, bile, and blood as he clawed at his face, which had been burned to an ugly black mass of blisters full to bursting and loose, stringy skin._

_Battle had never been so gruesome. It had always been merciful on his end, always quick and as clean as possible. But this was the cold, bitter reality of it all. Of what battle really was; merely slaughtered everything that moved and breathed, until you were either butchered or left as the only one standing. Mercy was a gift, a rare treasure that this battlefield could never wish to receive._

_The worst sight of all, though - the thing that broke something in him that he thought had been shattered a long time ago - was the sight of the long blade running straight through Grisha's abdomen, sinking right up to the very hilt. The tip glistened brightly in crimson, reflecting both blood and the unquenchable fires of hell. Despite the color draining from his face, Grisha still snapped at the boy a few feet behind him, but his words were inaudible to Levi's ears over the roaring of the fire and the agony of the city._

_H_ _e didn't find it in himself to show mercy. Whether it was the environment that changed him or the sight of his childhood hero being murdered in cold blood, he didn't know, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter that there was blood weighing down his coat and woolen shirt. It didn't matter that the pirate beneath his feet was twitching and writhing with deep, merciless gashes across his chest. All that mattered was getting to the kid, and to Carla._

_Grisha's son, however, was gone; many yards away, Eren was tugged in the general direction of the water canals by two other children, one a small ravenette and the other a frail blond. All that was left was Carla, with her chest heaving from the lack of fresh air and her hair matted with debris._

_As soon as Carla heard footsteps, she glanced up with a terrified whimper. Those one bright, vivid jade-green eyes were now a dull Christmas green. At the sight of Levi, she visibly relaxed despite the pain and shock she was in._

_ "L _ _evi," she breathed, like he was some angelic savior._

_"Carla_ _. . . ."_

_He dropped to one knee before her, his usually narrowed eyes wide and horrified. How had this happened? She had just been left here to die, crushed by her own beloved home, abandoned by the entire village, forced to watch her beloved die and her son be taken from her. She wasn't being raped by a bunch of monsters at least, but._ _. . ._

_Was this fate really better?_

_Levi thought he'd understood what war was like. He thought he knew how to cope, how to deal with tragedy, how to stay calm in the face of the horrors of war. He knew now that he didn't know anything of war. He wasn't some strong captain, wasn't the skilled and powerful soldier he'd sculpted himself into. He was just a scared child now, an innocent soul exposed to the hellish things in life, and it was like being thrown in ice-cold water._

"I made her a promise, Erwin," Levi hissed, fighting the urge to run a hand through his hair. "I promised, damn it. . . ."

_Levi knew it was futile, but he couldn't stop himself. He sheathed his sword without even cleaning it first, something he would probably regret later, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He grabbed hold of the beam over Carla's back, bracing his legs and straightening his back._

_"Levi, no, please!"_

_Levi disregarded her pleading, gasping out as the burning wood singed his skin. He immediately released it, but refused to give up. He took a deep breath before grabbing for it again, muscles screaming in protest as he pulled at the beam._

_"Just give me a minute!" he shouted over the chaos. "I'll get you out of there!"_

_"Levi, you can't possibly lift that!" Carla shrieked._

_"I can and I will, damn it!"_

_There were tears streaming down his face now. Whether they were from the heat blasting his face, the agonizing pain of his burning flesh, or the terror ripping through his chest, he didn't know. The beam shifted, and he moved it a few inches higher, a spark of hope pushing him to try harder._

_"Levi, even if you can lift it, I can't move, can't run - my legs are crushed." Carla's voice was soft, gentle, resigned._

_"Then I'll carry you!" Levi declared through gritted teeth. His heart felt as though it would rip out of his chest. He knew he couldn't. He knew he would collapse in exhaustion, even running on adrenaline. His body couldn't handle much more strain. It would kill him._

_"Levi."_

_The raven's knees buckled beneath him, and he lowered the beam as gently as he could before his legs gave out, a harsh sob tearing from his throat. He felt like a helpless child, and he hated it. Gentle hands cradled his face and he could only cry harder, clutching at the woman's arms. Her hands were cold, so cold despite the flames._

_"I-I'm sorry_ _. . ._ _f-fuck, I'm so sorry_ _. . . ._ _"_

"I suppose the only question," Erwin said gently, "is whether or not that promise is important enough for you to keep."

_"Levi, it's not your fault." Carla's eyes searched his own, the green only getting duller by the minute. She grasped his hands gently. "There's nothing you could have done, sweetheart."_

_"I'm so sorry, Carla, if I was just stronger-!"_

_"Don't say that," she crooned, brushing away a stray tear. "You can still do something for me."_

_"Anything," Levi instantly said, desperate to help. "Say the word, and I'll do anything for you."_

_Carla smiled softly, closing her eyes. "Take care of Eren for me, would you? He's going to be such a good captain someday. Watch over him, Levi_ _. . ._ _please._ _. . ._ _"_

_And then her hands went limp, and Levi's gut-wrenching wails filled the night air._

Levi stood abruptly, cracking his knuckles. It had become a nervous habit at this point. One of his thumbs traced lightly over the old burns on his palms, long-buried memories flashing through his mind. He hated his scars.

"I've tried my hardest to uphold my promise, Erwin. I tried to keep him on the right path, but he's made my job impossible."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself more than me," Erwin responded quietly.

Levi opened his mouth instantly to give an angry retort, but faltered. Erwin would see right through him, he knew. So, squaring his shoulders, he stood up off the bed and walked to the door. The tapping of boots against wood echoed eerily in the silence.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to go put that brat in his place."

Erwin let out a quiet sigh behind him, but when Levi glanced back, all he saw was the familiar pokerface, the smoothed over features that Erwin always portrayed in the heat of battle. Shaking his head, Levi schooled his face into a similar mask, and they made their way onto the deck. 

They were greeted by familiar faces, all stony and solemn. A small strawberry-blonde woman approached them, saluting with her fist over her heart before allowing her hand to drop to her dagger, stashed safely in her belt. "Jaeger's ship is in sight, Captains. Shall we fire the cannons or wait?"

"Wait," Erwin ordered. Petra raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting an explanation. She was the only one who could show such sass with the threat of battle looming ever closer. "Jaeger expects a fair fight."

"And we're going to give him one?"

"Of course we're going to give him one," Levi scoffed. "And a chance to back down. Jaeger won't fire at us. He probably wants to give some heroic speech before we kick his sorry ass."

"Do you think he'll back down if we let him?" Petra asked, worrying at her bottom lip. Levi raised his eyebrows at her.

"Of course not. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're worried about the brat."

"He's just a kid, Levi. Is all this necessary?"

"He declared war," Levi responded simply. "If he wants me to treat him as an adult during peace, I'm going to treat him like an adult in the heat of battle."

He turned away, ascending the steps to the steer. He wrapped his hands around the polished wood, comforting in his grasp, and closed his eyes. When they opened again, Erwin was beside him, and their crew was staring at them, waiting for orders. He glanced over to his co-captain, asking a silent question. Erwin cleared his throat to speak.

"All hands on deck! Prepare cannons as a precaution! Weapons at the ready! Wait for our command!"

"Aye, captain! "

The crew waited with bated breath as Carla loomed ever closer. The old ship glided gently through the cool waters, coming to a fluid stop mere feet away from the sleek, beautiful ship Magnolia. Young, hostile faces glared at them from the other ship, and among the lot, Levi instantly spotted their leader, dressed in worn leather and cotton. A cruel smirk twisted his lips at the sight, a million insults on his lips, but the brat was speaking before he could so much as open his mouth.

"Punctual as always, Levi," Eren taunted, crossing his arms and grinning mockingly, even as hatred flared from the depths of turquoise eyes.

"I wouldn't miss an opportunity to put you in your place," Levi responded coolly, stepping away from the wheel and up to the railing. They were just a few feet apart, so close Levi could jump over the gap and be on him in a second. "What kind of rags are you dressed in? Do you not have faith in your own ability to not tear up your silks?"

His words had a scowl settling over Eren's features, and the brunet's grip tightened on his sword's hilt. "I'll make you eat your words, short-stack," he growled menacingly. If Levi hadn't seen it all, he might have felt threatened. "I'll give you one chance to back down."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "How considerate of you," he drawled, words oozing sarcasm. "So I take it your ego is too big for you to back down?"

"We'll see who is feeding who to the sharks," Eren sneered. The other captain rolled his eyes.

"It's 'whom,' you uncultured swine," Levi spat, before unsheathing one of his rapiers. He pointed it at the other ship, an unspoken command rippling through his crew. The ravenet heard rather than saw Erwin pull out his own cutlass, and heard the words on his lips before he even spoke them.

"Onward!" the tall blond roared, and Levi was the first to leap across the gap onto the other ship.

* * *

The shrill screech of metal against metal filled the air in spasmodic bursts. The scream of one sword scraping against the other, the troubled grunt of a pirate struggling to keep his footing, all mixed in together with the sound of blood spilling over the floorboards. It all seemed to muddle together so perfectly, to somehow fit into one methodic heartbeat, until Eren was deaf to it all.

Adrenaline was an addicting sort of high that he could never get enough of. It coursed through his veins with each and every heartbeat, each and every slash and jab that met either steel or skin, until it was the only thing he could render in the world. It almost felt like walking through a fog, into a dream of some sorts, that set his body on autopilot. He could see a majority of his crewmates hacking down their enemies one by one, could hear Armin's change in tone, and with that adrenaline came the satisfyingly intoxicating high of pride.

The only thing that managed to pull him out of that trance-like state was one fleeting thought; _it's almost too easy_ . He dodged the blow that was aimed towards his abdomen and retaliated with a slash to the chest that sent the man howling to the ground. With that, he glanced around himself. Armin was nowhere to be found, nor was Levi. Erwin could be seen over the crowd, playing his own game of life or death with a crewmate that he could barely recognize from the blood and  torn clothing.

But if Erwin was there, then  shouldn't the other captain . . . ?

If he had pondered on that thought a second longer, his death would have been imminent. There were footsteps behind him, then the sound of steel cutting through the wind, and his sidestep barely saved him. Eren's sword met with the other's in mid-air, his arm shaking in the effort, until he somehow managed to overpower the other. The blade fell from his hand, and with that, Eren took the chance to sheathe his own into the man's bowels.

_If only it was that shrimp_ , he thought as he watched the body drop.

Just as quickly as he rid himself of the problem, another appeared, and it was then when he realized that the ship was being attacked on both sides. A pair of arms wrapped around him, the weight of the other person nearly crushing him. He tried to pry himself free, but the other's grip only tightened, and as a last resort, he sunk his teeth into the forearm nearest to his face. The longer they held onto him, the harder he bit into the flesh, until he could taste copper on his tongue.

" Fuck!"

He was finally released - well, rather, thrown unceremoniously onto the floorboards of his ship \- with flesh in his teeth and blood around his mouth. A soft hiss escaped his lips  as the old boards gave him more than one splinter. He slammed right into another body, and the responding yelp revealed to him it was Armin. Eren struggled to his knees, disoriented by the toss, and grimaced before spitting out the hunk of flesh. The tang of copper was overwhelming, and he rubbed his mouth viciously on his sleeve. 

He glanced up and caught sight of Erwin inspecting  his forearm, a look of mild disgust on his face. The bite was considerably large, with the flesh messily torn from the ends of the evident teeth marks, and revealed the velvety wetness from within. Then his gaze shifted to stormy blue orbs, and he regretted looking up at all.

"Sorry. "  There was an apologetic smile on Thomas's features that never faltered, even as the blade pressed up against his jugular. He craned his neck back in the attempt of somehow creating distance between the cold metal as he said, "They caught me -"

His final words were cut short as the blade ran across flesh of his throat, leaving a shiny ribbon of crimson in its wake. Blood immediately gushed from the wound, pumping out heavily from the depth of it, and Levi released his grip. Thomas fell to the ground, slumping on his side with strangled coughs and gags, until his twitching body finally became limp.

A small whine left Armin's lips from somewhere behind Eren, and with that, his mind finally started to process the situation. Sheer rage veiled him in the blinding white silk of a heavy, vociferous urgency that importuned to be quenched. He glared up  at  Levi and, for a fraction of a second, he saw a cruel, inhumane smile curved upon those thin lips. Other than that, the man's countenance was just as inscrutable as it had always been, as if he hadn't just killed a man.

The shorter captain's brow quirked up at the sight of Erwin's bloody arm. He questioned his companion, "What the hell happened to you?" 

The blond's frown deepened. It was clear that he was trying his best not to snap at his co-captain as he replied through grit teeth,  "He bit me, you ass ."

Levi rolled his eyes in amusement. "Nothing Hange can't fix, I'm sure."

Levi took a few steps forward, and Eren subconsciously moved closer to Armin, his only hope being that they'd go for him before his best friend. The ravenet stopped directly in front of the duo, and for a second Eren considered lunging for him, but then there was a boot on his face and his cheek was being shoved into the old, dilapidated floorboards.

Splinters again. Oh joy.

"Biting, really?" Levi snorted. "You're like some kind of animal."

"Fuck off," Eren spat, grabbing at the man's boot and trying to pry it off. When that didn't work (Levi was surprisingly heavy, and okay, maybe stronger than Eren thought), he turned his head the best he could. With an irritated growl, he bit the toe of Levi's boot and chewed as hard as he could, regardless of the dull ache it caused in his jaw.

Somewhere off to the side, he could hear Erwin murmur under his breath,  "Someone shoot that thing before it gives one of us rabies."

"What a savage." Levi's voice was a low, silvery purr, as if he was mocking the brunet beneath him. He pressed his foot down harder, rendering it impossible for Eren to gnaw anymore on the tough leather. "I do hope you haven't ruined these boots."

"All  right, all  right," Erwin interjected, "get off of him before you break his jaw."

Levi spared him a glance, looking rather displeased with the suggestion. "You're no fun, you know that?" 

He lifted his boot, relieving Eren of the painful pressure, only to slam his heel back down. A muffled cry escaped the back of Eren's throat as fire enveloped the majority of his face. He heard nothing but the low, wet cracking of his broken nose as Levi poured more of his weight on his foot, grinding ever so slowly as he said, "You said nothing about his nose, though."

With that, he removed himself completely, leaving Eren to curl up on his side with a small moan. The brunet gingerly cupped his hands over his nose, feeling nothing but the warmth of the heavy blood flow and the sharp pain that came with each and every heartbeat.

"Honestly, I expected more of a fight from you," Levi sighed as he idly waved his sword at his side.

He looked disinterested as he raised his blade, ready to end their war and go home with new additions to their crew and more goods to replenish their own supplies. Despite the pain he was in, Eren still felt that vehement anger that whelmed him earlier, still craved the feeling of blood on his skin and the sight of the life draining from his enemy's eyes.

Just as Levi had swung with the intent of ending his life, Eren rolled onto his side and avoided the blade by just a few centimeters. He aimed a kick towards Levi's shins, but the ravenet nimbly jumped back out of reach, the furrow in his brow slightly deepening. Eren shakily pushed himself up onto his feet and hastened to find his own blade, but when he reached for it, someone stepped on the handle.

He was ready to resort to fighting with nothing but his teeth and nails if he had to, but Levi snapped, "No. Let him."

"But Captain, you -"

"I said _let him_ ." 

There was a finality in his deadpan that made his crewmate shy away. Erwin watched with mild interest as Eren hesitantly grasped the handle, then switched his gaze over to Levi, whose expression stayed completely enigmatic to what he felt. Eren grasped the handle of his rapier with both hands despite the itching need to wipe away the blood that ran from his nostrils.

"I want to see what you can really do, brat," Levi readied his sword, and before he lunged, he growled, "Give me a fight that Grisha would've been proud to see."

The two blades screeched to a deafening halt in mid-air. Eren's grip on the handle tightened, but that didn't reassure him with how unctuous it was between his fingers, threatening to slip out of his grasp at any moment. They parted, and without a moment's hesitation, they partook in an enervating dance of steel and sweat. There were a few missteps every here and there on Eren's end, but besides that, they were even - but while the brunet's exhaustion gradually showed, Levi retained his pristine demeanor.

It was harder to breathe, with his nose still stinging so painfully and the blood that found its way past his lips, but his will to survive pushed him past that. He parried Levi's blows with his own, their movements quick and clever, footsteps light and meticulous, until a particularly violent thrust sent him toppling backwards. Levi kicked his sword away, and in turn swung his own in a vicious blow that would surely pierce straight through his heart.

A few seconds passed, however, with naught more than the sound of wood creaking, fire cackling, and his own labored breaths. Eren stared up ludicrously at Levi, who merely held the tip of his blade mere centimeters from his chest, a slightly calculating look taking over his otherwise nonchalant features.

For some time, the two stayed in that position, until Levi finally said, "On second thought, I'll let you live."

He withdrew his sword. Brow furrowing, Eren tried to push himself up by the elbows as he started, "What the absolute hell -?!"

His words fell dead on the tip of his tongue as the ravenet's blade came into contact with his jugular, pressing against the skin so roughly that it drew a few droplets of blood. Eren dropped back down onto his back in relinquishment with a sharp intake of breath.

"I'll let you live as long as you join my crew." The younger man stared up at Levi as if it were the most ludicrous thing he's ever heard. "You'll refrain from your stupid attempts at cannibalism and come along with us obediently. Otherwise, I'll slit your throat right here and now."

"What makes you think I'll come along  _obediently?_ " Eren spat out that last word as if it were tin between his teeth.

Levi turned his eyes elsewhere, saying, "You'll do it for your little friend." 

Eren craned his neck to follow his gaze. Armin was trembling from head to toe, leaving Eren with the impression that the only reason he was still standing was because of the men that held his arms behind his back. The blond squeezed his eyes shut with a small whimper as he was pulled closer towards one of Levi's crewmates. The man squeezed Armin's hip as he murmured something into his ear, which elicited a shaky sob.

"Once you're dead, there's nothing stopping my crew from tying him up and fucking him in ways you could never imagine."

"You -" Eren tore his eyes away from the disgusting view of the hands that trailed over Armin's torso, spluttering, "You - you wouldn't - you fucking  _monster_ -!"

"You're right. I wouldn't." A faint smirk was evident on Levi's lips as he purred, "And I'm the only one that would be _merciful_ about it. Who's to say they won't sell him off as a slave once they're done shoving their cocks down that pretty little mouth of his?"

Eren's eyes whited at the statement. He glanced at Armin for a second, the back to Levi, and with the deadpan of a man who lost every ounce of faith, he muttered, "Fine."

Levi sheathed his sword. A few of his crewmates immediately grabbed onto the ruins of Eren's coat and dragged him up to his feet. The brunet's cold, acrimonious glare never left Levi, not until he was reunited with Armin on the opposing ship. They were both released from the bruising grasps of the men that took them, and while he held Armin in his lap and reassured the sobbing blond that they would be all right, he watched his life crumble before him.

He watched as the wood cracked and collapsed, as the fire enveloped the corpses with thin, greedy tongues, as his sail frayed like a paper than had been tossed into the fireplace. He was enraptured by the way the the ship deteriorated, until it came to a point that left unable to support itself on the water any longer. Carla was swallowed whole by the thick, ashy mouth of the sea, leaving only a few stray floorboards and corpses in its wake.

And just like that, his parents were taken from him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Captain: I think we put more effort in writing the A/Ns than the story lel. Please be prepared for the shitstorm that is steadily brewing, and we love reviews!!


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